Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow… Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15

Two weeks ago I wrote about “planning paralysis,” a condition that often affects Christians when they must make important decisions about the future. Who should I marry? Where should I go to college? Should I accept this job offer in San Diego? and a host of lesser, but still nonetheless vital decisions. Because we sincerely desire to see God’s will accomplished in this world and we want to live surrendered lives, we sometimes approach decision-making tentatively or with a sense of passivity. “Is this what you want, God? I don’t want to miss your will!” we may say. By this way of reckoning our sincere decisions are either “in” or “out” of God’s will.

Proverbs 16 provided a more helpful model. Rather than evaluating each decision as being “in” or “out” of God’s will, the Bible assures us that God’s will is accomplished through or in the midst of our decisions as we walk in moment by moment dependence on him. True, we often make decisions based on incomplete knowledge, but the spirit of Christ within us is more than able to guide, mold and shape our imperfect decisions to accomplish his purposes. God is always able to show us course corrections as we journey together hand in hand.

I received a lot of feedback on that devotional and want to continue on this theme, because not everyone approaches decisions in a passive or tentative way.

Some people make hasty, rash or self-serving decisions with little or no consideration of the consequences. “Honey, I booked a vacation cruise for our 10th anniversary! Oh wait, we’re back three months on our mortgage.”

Or some folks plan everything out with excruciating detail and therefore think that the outcome is assured. They have their whole lives mapped out and put into a neat little box- college major, career trajectory, housing options, number of kids, retirement date (and income level), who their kids will marry, etc. It doesn’t take long for us to realize that life doesn’t always follow our script.

Apparently all of these decision making styles existed in the early church too. James reminds his flock (above) that God does have a plan and we can make decisions consistent or inconsistent with his character. The choice (and consequences) are ours. Ultimately, however, all of our plans should be placed in his hand. We don’t know what tomorrow holds but we can rest in the fact that the unexpected twists and turns of this life are the very substance God uses to hold us close and open up doors of ministry to others.

In the 4th century, the ancient church father Augustine made a shocking statement. In his commentary on the book of 1 John he said “Love [God and others] and do what you want.” (the actual quote is found below)

I suppose that some have taken this quote out of context for their own purposes. His point, however, is spot on. When a believer is operating with the heart and mind of Christ, the outflow of their life will be decisions and choices that are consistent with God’s plan. So live full and free. Don’t hang back from an important decision or forever second guess yourself after you’ve made it. Nor should you allow your flesh to dominate the decision making process. Prayerfully choose, confident that God is already using the process to further his will and advance his kingdom in YOU!

Once for all, then, a short precept is given thee:

Love, and do what you will:

whether you hold your peace,

through love hold your peace;

whether you cry out, through love cry out;

whether you correct, through love correct;

whether you spare, through love do you spare:

let the root of love be within,

of this root can nothing spring but what is good.

~Augustine, Tractatus VI, 8.